by Raven Steele
“If this is being treated well, then I don’t ever want to see the other ones.”
He faced me, his nose inches from mine, and took hold of my hand. He raised it to his lips. “If you stay by my side, you’ll never step foot in anything less again.”
His lips pressed against my skin.
A wave of heat hit me stronger than I expected, and I shook my head at the suddenness of it. Vampire magic. I had never experienced it, but had heard how vampires could seduce people with their kiss. I quickly withdrew my hand and turned away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smile at my discomfort.
He gestured me forward. “Come. Sit.”
We moved to table in the corner that gave us a view of the entire club. It was the only empty space and, by the envious looks of those we passed, it appeared it had been saved specifically for him. From what I could sense, I wasn’t the only shifter in the club. I spotted three others who looked to be in the same position as me—hanging on some vamp’s arm. I also spotted half a dozen humans who wandered the club, looking for anyone who might take an interest.
A vampire waitress approached our table. She batted her long eyelashes at Angel and I swear her breasts perked up on their own. I wrinkled my nose at her, wondering what she saw in him. He was handsome enough with a strong jaw and full lips, but I’ve seen way hotter shifters. Luke, to be exact.
“What can I get you?” Her eyes were only for Angel.
“Address the lady first, please,” he said, his tone brisk.
She cleared her throat and reluctantly shifted her gaze to me. Through a forced smile, she asked, “What would you like?”
“Straight whiskey is all. On the rocks.”
“And I’ll have a Manhattan with just a pinch of that lovely’s blood.” He pointed to the girl on the end, the one who had slumped over the furthest. Her long dark hair spilled over the side of an armrest.
“As you wish.” She winked at him and walked away, sashaying her hips. I stared after her, wondering if Angel had lived in Manhattan when it was established. As soon as she was gone, another employee hurried over and asked if we needed anything else to make our stay enjoyable. Angel waved him away.
“They sure treat you like royalty around here,” I mumbled, noting how many of the employees eyed him nervously.
“They better. I am their boss, after all.”
“You own this place?”
“For almost a century now.” His eyes dropped to my lips.
I averted my gaze quickly before I felt that foreign heat again.
“Why do you stay here? Rouen doesn’t seem fancy enough for you. Plus …” I played with a napkin in my hand, choosing my next words carefully. “There are lots of drug addicts.”
His thin lips turned up in a smile as sharp as a knife. “A great place to distribute something new, then.”
I returned the pointed smile, glad he was willing to play the game. “It absolutely is.”
Rising to my feet, I said, “Hold that thought.”
I turned toward the bar, but kept my eyes on him as I slid my fingers across the table seductively. I walked away, his eyes warming my backside. Putty in my hands.
Even though I had already ordered a drink, I needed an excuse to check the status of the poor girls behind the bar. Reaching the counter, I leaned onto it, and pretended to eye all the bottles of alcohol stacked between the girls sitting on their thrones. I tried not to look at them for fear I’d try to rescue them, but if Angel was telling the truth, these girls wanted to be here. They weren’t tied up. And none of the other humans looked like they had been forced to be here. Unless they were compelled. I wondered what Mateo’s rules were about that. Any decent vampire avoided it, taking away someone’s agency like that. It was too soon to tell if Angel was decent, but since he was distributing some high-level drug, I doubted it.
“Excuse me.” I got the male bartender’s attention. “Could I have some of that?” I pointed to a bottle of Devil’s Spring Vodka. I needed something super strong. He grunted something that could have been “screw you” or “sure thing”. I couldn’t tell which. Either way, it was impolite.
“Hey, rude barkeep!” I slammed my hand on the bar and his face snapped to me, his fangs out. “I’m with Angel. You know, your boss.”
His eyebrows lifted and his gaze shifted to Angel’s table. His incisors snapped back into his mouth.
“Yeah, that’s right. So get me a drink. Please.”
He nodded quickly and set to work. There weren’t many perks to acting as an escort, so when I found one, I was going to exploit it as much as possible.
A sudden hand snatching my ass made me jump. I whirled around. “What the hell?”
A bald vampire slightly taller than me grinned, exposing elongated fangs. His eyes were dark and sinister. He leaned forward, smelling me long and hard.
His gaze traveled to my boobs. “You’re new, and I like what I see. How much for a suck off the old tit?”
I cleared my throat. “One. They’re not for sale. And two. They’re not old. They’re spectacular.”
He took hold of my upper arm. “Are you turning me down?”
Praying I didn’t ruin my dress, I rammed my knee into his groin with as much force as I could muster. He doubled over and suddenly Angel appeared, bringing with him a gust of wind. I didn’t see the dagger, but I heard it as it was shoved into the vampire’s back and into his heart. The vampire looked up, his eyes widened a split second before they began to melt and slide down his face. His entire body wilted into itself, until all that remained was a pile of smelly skin and fat.
“I apologize for this monster.” Angel straightened his tie. “Are you alright?”
I couldn’t’ stop staring at the mess at my feet, inches from my new heels.
He touched my arm, getting my attention. “Are you alright?”
I puffed air past my lips. “I had it handled.”
“He should’ve known his place. I don’t tolerate vampires like him in my establishment.” He said this loud, enough to garner the attention of everyone in the room. He pulled me to him and looked out over the crowd, meeting the gaze of everyone there. If there was any question to whom I belonged to before, there wasn’t anymore. It was a strange feeling, being claimed.
Angel led me back to my seat, his hand pressing to the small of my back, and his other holding my vodka.
“I just want to make it clear, you don’t own me.” I lowered back into my chair. The waitress had already brought our drinks.
“Your wishes don’t matter here, she-wolf.”
I growled at him, showing my teeth, but he ignored the threat. Most supernaturals would have fought me if I’d challenged them like that, but he was calm and collected, annoyingly so.
I tossed my drink back in one gulp and grabbed the other bottle to refill my empty glass. I caught a disapproving scowl from the nearby waitress. “What? I’m a grown woman.”
The waitress forced a smile and walked away, leaving us alone. I tapped my fingers against the table. “You know I can take care of myself, right? Fighting comes easy to me.”
He met my gaze with a serious one of his own. “Believe me, I am aware that you’re fully capable of taking care of yourself.”
The silence filled the space between us as we both remembered how I’d held a knife to his boss’ neck. It reminded me of Toby, who’d died that night, and a weight pressed to my chest. I looked away, not wanting to get into a staring contest with a vampire.
“You know,” he said as he slid his cold hand over mine, “I like a woman who can battle. If you really want to, we could arrange it. My customers love a good skirmish. Sometimes the dancing can become a bit tiresome.”
I eyed him, willing my hand to stay put beneath his. “What if we made a deal? If I fight someone in this club and win, then we talk serious business. The Silver Claws are anxious to begin working with the Nocturnas again.”
He considered this as his gaze wandered around the room. “
It’s a deal.”
He snapped his fingers. The gentleman who had come to our table earlier hurried over. “Yes, Monsieur?”
“Clear the floor. We’re going to have a sporting event.”
“Right away.”
Within minutes, they had pushed aside several tables, making the dance area much bigger. The thought of fighting had ignited an excitement in me I hadn’t felt since before killing Silas. My wolf was ready to tear apart a vampire. It made me realize how much her aggression had grown over the last couple weeks. I could feel her energy coursing through my muscles, begging to be released.
“Who do you want me to fight?”
“Would you like to choose?”
I grimaced. “That’s no fun. I don’t know who sucks at fighting and who is good. Don’t waste anyone’s time here, especially mine. Give me someone well-trained.”
He snapped his fingers again. The young vampire appeared. “Lawrence, tell Misty to come here.”
Lawrence nodded and disappeared. A moment later, a tall and lean woman arrived at our table. Her skin was pale as the moon and she wore a dark, short dress with black combat boots. Her blond hair was pulled back into a loose bun.
“You needed me, Angel?” She didn’t bother looking at me.
“When was the last time you fought someone for sport?”
She looked to the ceiling as if thinking. “Before I came into the building, I stepped on bubblegum. I punched the first person I saw. Does that count?”
He smiled. “It does. How would you like to fight again? Put on a little show for our customers.”
“I would like that very much.” She scooted closer to him and ran a polished nail up his arm. “Who would you like me to hurt?”
“Misty,” he gestured formally to me, “meet my date. Briar. She’s a shifter with the Silver Claws pack.”
She took one look at me in my thin evening gown and laughed out loud. “How is that sport? I’ll destroy her with one blow!”
My pulse raced at the challenge. I slowly pushed my chair away from the table and stood, smiling at her. “Let’s see how that works out for you.”
Chapter 10
“Angel, what are the rules?” I didn’t take my eyes off her.
“Only one: no killing each other. I don’t wish to see that fate for either of you. Other than that, all is fair in war.” His eyes met mine. “And love.”
“I’ll take the war part.” I walked towards the center of the cleared space and stretched my legs. I had to be limber if I was going to fight this tall bitch. I moved into a squat and quickly realized this dress wouldn’t do. Taking the material in my hands, I tore at the top of the slit, continuing to do so until I had turned my long dress into an extremely short one. Good thing I had worn my Friday panties. They were my cutest pair.
“A shorter dress isn’t going to help you, sweetheart.” Misty’s voice dripped with disdain, and she circled around me, eyeing my movements. Several more vampires outlined the edges of the circle, all anxious to see the fight. Angel stood at the end, texting something into his phone.
I inhaled a deep breath, worried he wouldn’t pay attention to the fight. If I could impress Angel, he could convince Mateo to work with the Silver Claws again. Then Dominic would be happy and maybe I wouldn’t have to go out with Angel again to gain Dominic’s trust.
I had to beat her, but just enough to not stand out.
“It will help, sweetheart.” I removed my high heels. “Prepare to have your ass kicked.”
She lunged for me before my next shoe was off, but I quickly sidestepped her. She was fast, all because of those ridiculously long legs. I noticed she kept her boots on.
“Aren’t you going to take off your shoes too?” I dodged her again. “Seems only fair.”
She swung at me, but I ducked and came up with a heavy fist right into her side. She gasped for air and the crowd of vampires cheered.
She recovered quickly and stepped forward, punching three times in quick succession. I dodged the first two, but the third uppercut was too fast. I staggered back, and she followed through with another hit to my chest. I flew backwards, smashing against a table that broke in two. I fell to the ground, coughing and spitting up blood. Misty turned to the crowd, raising her arms into the air to elicit more cheers.
“Son of a bitch.” I pulled myself onto all fours, wiping the blood from my mouth. I needed to step this up about a hundred notches. I straightened myself and pushed away the tables.
“Do you think she wants some more?” Misty kept her back to me, egging on the crowd who responded to her with cheers.
I grinned wickedly. “I don’t want some, I want the whole damn thing.” I strolled toward her, opening and closing my hands. I was ready to kick some ass.
She was mid-eye roll when I swung at her so fast she couldn’t track it. I landed several across her chest, then kicked her in the stomach, dropping her to her knees. I waited for her to get back on her feet; I didn’t want to end the fight too quickly.
While I waited, I pulled my dress back down over my underwear, which turned several cheers into boos.
“Not that kind of a party!” I called into the crowd, smiling big. I was actually having fun.
Until a fist crashed into my nose.
Blood drained from my nose and onto my dress. Damnit! Another fist followed. It was on.
We battered back and forth, each taking a toll on the other. At one point, she had me pinned to the floor, my face squished against the cold marbled floor. Her arm curled around my neck in a lethal head lock, stopping air from flowing into my lungs. My vision began to cloud, and the audience cheered and chanted for my death.
Well, shit. This girl was making me look bad. Sure, I might not die, but I’d lose my chance at reclaiming my position in the pack. I couldn’t let that happen. Looked like I was going have to tap into my wolf.
I took a few precious seconds, blocking out all stimuli, and focused on her. I concentrated on her powers, the ones that seemed to linger on the fringes of my mind. I found them quickly and latched onto a small tendril. Power surged through my body and I reached back. In one fluid motion and with the strength of a dozen vampires, I easily unhooked her arm from around my neck and tossed her across the room and into several vampires.
The excited cries in the room died down as I came to my feet. Every eye was on me as I walked across the floor barefoot to where she lay sprawled on the ground. When she saw me, she climbed to her feet, a bit tipsy. She shook off her dizziness and hissed at me. Her face was dark and serious, no longer the cocky vampire with a bad attitude. She attacked me again, but this time I didn’t mess around. I jerked my fist back and slammed it into her face as hard as I could. Her head snapped back so hard, I thought her neck would crack. Instead, she fell back unconscious.
The crowd was completely silent. The only sound in the room was the tinkling of ice near the rude bartender. I looked around at their shocked faces. “What? She’s still alive!”
Angel began to slow clap. Others quickly joined in. He walked over to me, eyeing me up and down. “You are a real treasure. I’ve only known one other wolf shifter who could take out a vampire like that.”
“Yeah? Well, maybe you should get to know more shifters.” I didn’t want him to think I was anything too special.
He studied me, his eyebrow raised. Finally, he nodded his head. “Maybe you’re right.” I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not. Then he looked upward and I followed his gaze.
Mateo stood on the atrium balcony, gripping the handrail tight and staring down at us. His long, dark hair made his sharp cheekbones stand out more, and his eyes were narrowed on me. I cleared my throat and smoothed my blood-spattered dress down. His mere presence was refined and dignified, and it made me feel like trailer trash.
Angel broke the stare between us by taking my hand and pulling me back to our table. “We made a deal. You held up your end of it, and I will do the same.”
“I appreciate that.” Hol
ding my dress close to me, what little of it was left, I sat down and rested my elbows on the table. I shook off my encounter with Mateo. Time to start selling Dominic.
“So tell me, what can I do to convince you to work with the Silver Claws again? Dominic feels bad about what happened. He wants to make it right. We are willing to renegotiate terms, give you a bigger piece of the pie.”
He reached into his breast pocket and removed a vial. He placed it between us. My lips parted and I stared down at it as if it might come to life.
“This is part of our latest batch of Scorpion's Breath. It’s even better than what we gave you the first time. There is no come-down after the high. In two weeks’ time, we plan to have it in production with the ability to produce hundreds of liters daily. We need to work with people who can move it quickly to all parts of the country. I’m not sure the Silver Claws have the capacity to take on a project this large.”
“Of course, we can.” I tried not to be too obvious that I was itching to touch the vial again. Part of me, the part buried beneath the alcohol swimming in my veins and the adrenaline still pumping strong, didn’t like that I had had such a reaction to the drug.
“You’ve tried it before.” He wasn’t asking.
I tore my eyes away from the vial and looked at Angel. “Not willingly. Silas injected me with it. He nearly killed me.”
“I heard about that, but you gutted him in the end, as was your right. I can appreciate a good gutting. So few people know how to do it correctly.”
At that, I reached for the vial and picked it up. I loved how cool it felt in my warm hand.
“Please, try this sample. How else will you know if it’s a product you want to sell? Once you approve it, I will report back to Dominic that you were a very thorough and shrewd business dealer. If I can get Mateo to approve, which I can, we will work with you and at the original terms agreed upon.”
“Really?” I popped off the lid. To smell it only. Its aroma reminded me of ginger and chemicals. I wasn’t sure if I liked it. “Last time, it gave me hallucinations.” I shivered. “They were terrible.”